Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2020 When the Big Ten's COVID-delayed season finally began in late October, Penn State seemed poised to challenge for the title — provided, of course, that the league was able to continue playing with its stringent test-and-trace pro- tocols in place to limit the spread of the virus. The Nittany Lions were eighth in the Associated Press poll to start out and were opening at unranked Indiana, a team to which they had lost only once in 23 games. The Lions look a late 28-20 lead in Bloomington, but the Hoosiers were undaunted. They rallied back in the fi- nal 1:42, then won the game in overtime, 36-35, when quarterback Michael Penix Jr. waved the ball at the pylon just before sliding out of bounds on a two-point conversion attempt. It took a lengthy video review for of- ficials to determine that the nose of the ball had crossed the goal line, and many Penn State fans will argue to this day that it didn't. Still, the most disheart- ening aspect of the game was not the final play. Rather, it was the string of penalties, turnovers and other assorted miscues that caused PSU to lose a game in which it held a 488-211 edge in total yards. The most notable of those blunders was an uncontested 14-yard touchdown by running back Devyn Ford in the last two minutes. The Lions could have run out the clock, Indiana having used all its timeouts, but Ford's unwanted score forced them to kick off one last time, and it proved costly. "There are a lot of plays throughout the game that we should have handled differently," James Franklin said. "It's my job as the head coach to make sure ev- erybody clearly understands those situ- ations. Obviously, that didn't happen." 10 YEARS AGO, 2015 Penn State went 4-1 in October 2015, with wins over Army (20-14), Indiana (29-7), Maryland (31-30) and Illinois (39-0). The only loss in that five-game span was to No. 1 Ohio State on the road, a 38-10 decision in Franklin's first visit to the Horseshoe as PSU's head coach. The most memorable of the wins was over Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. With Mike Locksley serving as interim head coach following Randy Edsall's midseason dismissal, the Terra- pins couldn't stop Penn State's big-play passing attack. Christian Hackenberg threw for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 13 completions. In the process, the third-year starter moved past Zach Mills to become Penn State's career leader in completions (608) and passing yards (7,453). Penn State couldn't run the ball, totaling only 48 yards on the ground, but a one-dimensional offense, coupled with 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries by the defense, was enough to deliver a narrow victory. The win improved Penn State's record to 6-2 and assured it a bowl trip at the end of the season. To Franklin, that was cause for celebration. "Like I told the seniors, tonight al- lowed us to keep our family together for another month or so at the end of the season," the second-year coach said. 25 YEARS AGO, 2000 After dropping five of its first seven games, Penn State posted back-to-back victories for the first and only time in 2000 when it topped visiting Illinois, 39-25, on Oct. 21 and Indiana, 27-24, the following week at the RCA Dome in In- dianapolis. Despite being outgained 472-390, the Nittany Lions led most of the way in their matchup with the Illini. A 49-yard pick-six by linebacker Shamar Finney in the third quarter helped PSU stay out in front, and it pulled away when quarter- back Rashard Casey ran 39 yards for a late touchdown. Casey played one of his best games of the season the following week in helping Penn State outlast the Hoosiers and their excellent dual-threat quarterback Ant- waan Randle El. The Nittany Lion senior completed 18 of 23 passes for 198 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions while also rushing for 27 yards on 8 carries. Casey was at his best in the last two minutes, leading the Nittany Lions to the Indiana 22-yard line with 22 seconds re- maining. Kicker Ryan Primanti did the rest, booting a 39-yard field goal to give Penn State the victory. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History TixManJim@gmail.com www.TixManJim.com at James Franklin led his eighth-ranked Nittany Lions into an empty Memorial Stadium at Indiana on Oct. 24 to open the COVID-shortened 2020 season. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS